USOPC Adds Six New Members To Board of Directors For 2021, Ups Athlete Reps

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has added six new members to its board of directors beginning in 2021, and bringing athlete representation above the recommended 33%.

The six new members are Daria Schneider (Athletes’ Advisory Council representative), Donna de Varona (Athlete at-large representative), John Naber (Athlete at-large representative), Dexter Paine (National Governing Bodies council representative), Muffy Davis (International Paralympic Committee representative), and Gordon Crawford (U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation representative, non-voting).

Naber and de Varona were elected to their seats through the U.S. Olympians & Paralympians Association in a re-vote after the USOPC Ethics Committee ordered a new election.

Between those two, Davis, and Schneider, the USOPC board of directors gets four new athlete members to join five returning athlete members: Cheri Blauwet, Anita De Frantz, Steve Mesler, Kikkan Randall, and Brad Snyder. That puts the USOPC over the recommended baseline of 33% athlete representation. The current board features 22 members.

Of that athlete group, swimming itself has a sizable representation. De Varona is a two-time Olympic swimming champ. Naber won five Olympic swimming medals. And Snyder is a seven-time Paralympic swimming medalist who has served on the board since January of 2019.

The new board will take their seats on January 1 of 2021. At that point, current board members Robbie Bach, Bill Marolt, and Whitney Ping will step down.

You can see more detailed biographies of the board members here.